Monthly Archives: July 2014

Adventure Bible Wisdom

Top Five Takeaways from the 2014 Cross Train Sports Camp

on Monday, July 28, 2014

For the past three years, the last week of June has been designated as the week for Cross Train Sports Camp at Gibbs High School in Corryton, TN.2014 Cross Train Sports Camp Group

Each night of the week children ages K – 8 are invited to learn more about their sport and hear about the love of Jesus!

Campers are treated to excellent coaching from the top coach of each sport at the high school level for football, basketball, cheerleading, softball, baseball, soccer and volleyball.  Head coaches, coaches and players from each of these sports are represented to show these younger kids drills and motivation to reach the next level.

The camp starts each night a 6:30 and ends with a huddle time in the gym where the kids hear about the theme and Bible verse for the week.  Each night a speaker will share their experiences with life and Jesus – sometimes they are famous, and sometimes they just want to pour into kids.

I have been a part of the conception and leadership team for the camp each year.  For me this camp is so special because of how it was birthed, who it serves, who serves in it, and because I was saved as an 18 year old boy at FCA camp in Maryville, TN.  Camp is just special to me.

I love serving the kids and our community through the camp, and want to share five positive takeaways from this year’s camp.

  1. 21 Salvations recorded this year.  This is the reason we have sports camp – to see children saved.  Now did each one of these understand what they were doing – probably not.  We are in the process with following up with parents, but even if they did not understand today – they are on the right track in their minds to fully understand what true repentance and salvation looks like.
  2. Praying with warriors.  Man we have some awesome prayer warriors show up for Sports Camp, and I love to see God working in their lives.  They build me up and give me encouragement.
  3. Loving on children.  It is so good just to love on kids who will let you.  All too early kids put up their shields like they don’t need anybody, but it is so good to get those who will let you love on them.  Some of these kids are love starved, so loving on them in the name of Jesus is so impactful.
  4. Serving with friends.  I grew up in this community.  I know a lot of people here, and it just blesses my heart to serve our Jesus with friends outside the walls of our church.
  5. Strengthening our community.  I don’t know of any other event that will strengthen our family like coming together, serving each other and our God.  It builds the community in very deep ways that will pay dividends for years to come in ways we may never even see.

 

Positive Attitude Wisdom

Three Considerations of a Worthy 4th of July Celebration

on Thursday, July 3, 2014

This 4th of July most people will be off work.  Some will take a family vacation.  Some will stay home and grill outside.  Pyrotechnics will shoot off fireworks in awe of the lights, sounds and pageantry.

Unfortunately most will not stop to consider just what this Independence Day means to us Americans.

In the 1600’s people left England for the “New World” in search of religious freedoms.

The Puritans of England did not like the ways Christians were told how to practice their religion.  Kings and Queens demanded that the only way to pray, be married, baptized, be buried and carry out the sacraments of the church to be defined by the often revised Book of Common Prayer.  Government is meant to govern people, not dictate how to worship God.

So some of the more daring Puritans left their home knowing there would be great cost for this journey.  They understood the cost for such a journey, but also understood the cost for not worshiping God as He demands.US Flag

Through the 1600 and 1700’s they fought many foes to keep this land we now call America.  Hardships and battles that we will never understand were fought so we could worship and call this land ours.

On July 4th of 1776 our founding fathers signed a document they created called the Declaration of Independence declaring our independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.  The Revolutionary War was fought from 1775 to 1783 to defend the Declaration we had declared and solidify us as a sovereign nation.

So today in 2014 we want to celebrate the 4th of July with lots of celebrations – and they are fine.  But I ask that we stop to consider just what we are Independent from and what those original Puritans envisioned when they left the security of that shore with their family in search of a better way of living the Christian life they dreamed.

Three considerations for a worthy Independence Day celebration.

  1. Reflect on the reasons and people who gave their life in the pursuit of our freedoms.
  2. Exercise your religious freedoms by reflecting with God and the plans He has for your life today.
  3. Share with a family member or friend what this freedom means to you and how we got it.  In today’s world of instant communication we fail to communicate the important things in life sometimes.

 

Freedom wasn’t free, and it was paid at great costs for you and me!

 

God please bless the USA!